George Foulkes: All options will be explored

Scotland has nuclear plants at Torness in East Lothian, Hunterston in Ayrshire, and Chaplecorss in Dumfriesshire - while the Dounreay plant in Caithness is being closed down.

Torness power station is expected to last for a further 20 years, while Hunterston may last for a further decade.

Mr Foulkes said: "No decision has yet been made. But we all have to face up to the fact that we're using more energy and that we need to generate it.

Energy opportunities

"Generating it by coal and gas creates carbon dioxide emissions.

"Therefore, all of us, even me who have been nuclear sceptic for a long time, have to consider this as an option when we consider all those open to us."

However, Doctor Richard Dixon, of Friends of the Earth, said ther was no need for any more stations to be built north of the Border.

"Another nuclear station is probably the last thing Scotland needs," Dr Dixon said.

"We've got twice as much energy capacity as we need in Scotland at the moment.

"While some of that will be phased out over the next ten to twenty years, we now have the opportunity to get really good at energy efficiency and to give a real boost to renewable energies which are the future."

Richard Dixon: Scotland has enough energy

Last month, the Scottish National Party accused First Minister Henry McLeish of "misleading" the Scottish Parliament over future nuclear energy policy.

SNP leader John Swinney said the Scottish Executive had not been represented on a group set up by the UK Government to review energy policy.

In July, fuel rods at the Chapelcross plant fell down a discharging chute, but bosses insisted that the incident posed no danger to the public.